Trends in background levels of persistent organic pollutants at Kosetice observatory, Czech Republic. : Part I. Ambient air and wet deposition 1996?2005

Trends in background levels of persistent organic pollutants at Kosetice

observatory, Czech Republic.

Part I. Ambient air and wet deposition 1996–2005w

Ivan Holoubek,abc

Jana Klanova,*ac

Jirı Jarkovskyaand Jirı Kohoutek

ac

Received 17th January 2007, Accepted 8th May 2007

First published as an Advance Article on the web 21st May 2007

DOI: 10.1039/b700750g

Kosetice observatory is a facility of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, which is a part of

the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) network. Persistent organic

pollutants (POPs: PCBs, DDTs, HCHs, PAHs) have been monitored in all environmental

matrices using the integrated monitoring approach. Generally, the atmospheric levels of POPs in

this Central European background station (mean values: 0.115 ng m�3 forP

PCBs, 0.040 ng m�3

forP

DDTs, 0.077 ng m�3 forP

HCHs, and 17 ng m�3 forP

PAHs) are significantly higher

than those in other EMEP stations localized mostly in Northern and Western Europe. Long-term

trends of POP concentrations in the ambient air and wet deposition are presented in this article

and they show a slow decline in the last decade for most of the investigated compounds.

Temporally increased levels of certain chemicals were associated with some local climatic (floods)

or socio-economic (fuel prices) factors.

Introduction

A risk of irreversible changes in the terrestrial and aquatic

ecosystems as well as a danger of the global climate change

caused by environmental pollution was first recognized in the

early 1960s. However, detection of such changes in the natural

environment at regional and global levels requires a coordi-

nated monitoring effort based on broad international coopera-

tion. First, international monitoring programs were

introduced in the 1960s and 1970s by the international institu-

tions (WMO, ECE, UNEP), and they focused on various

environmental aspects, including effects of human activities

on climate change, trans-boundary transport of pollutants and

exchange of chemicals between environmental compartments.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as the substances prone

to long-range atmospheric transport and deposition in distant

regions,1,2 are the compounds of such concern. Their global

impact has been apparent since the members of this group

were detected in polar regions at levels posing risks to both

wildlife3 and humans.4

In 1992, a newly established initiative of the United Nations

Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) had prepared a

protocol on POPs2 with the goal to control, reduce or elim-

inate their discharge, emission and release. A similar program

of the United Nations Environment Program was introduced

in cooperation with the International Forum for Chemical

Safety (UNEP/IFCS).5 It has been recognized that an impor-

tant step in establishment of effective control measures is the

inventory of current POP concentrations in various environ-

mental compartments, and assessment of their time trends.

Determination of POP concentrations in the atmosphere, wet

and dry deposition, surface water, sediment, soil and vegeta-

tion is desirable under various geographic and climatic condi-

tions. Such information improves our understanding of the

pathways and potential effects of chemical substances, and

defines specific parameters for exposure assessment. At the

same time, new data sets valuable for validation of regional

and global models of atmospheric transport and environmen-

tal fate are generated. The number of sites where POPs are

continuously monitored over extended time periods in several

environmental compartments is, however, very limited.

One of the programs coordinating such a monitoring effort

on multiple sites is the European Monitoring and Evaluation

Programme (EMEP). It was established with the main goal of

providing the governments and subsidiary bodies under the

Convention on Long Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution

with qualified scientific information supporting development

and evaluation of the international protocols. The EMEP

program was initially focused on the trans-boundary transport

of acidification and eutrophication. Later, its scope broadened

to address a formation of surface ozone, and more recently it

also covers volatile organic compounds, persistent organic

pollutants, and heavy metals. A map of the EMEP stations

(including analyzed matrices) is presented in Fig. 1.6

Only six (out of fifteen) EMEP sites reported POPs in both

air and wet deposition in 2004. Kosetice station (furthest to

the right in Fig 1) was the only site where POPs were also

a RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 126/3, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected];Fax: +420 549492840; Tel: +420 549495149

b TOCOEN, s.r.o., Kamenice 126/3, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic,E-mail: [email protected]; Fax: +420 549492840;Tel: +420 549495149

cNational POPs Centre of the Czech Republic, Kamenice 126/3, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected]; Fax:+420 549492840; Tel: +420 549495149w Presented at Sources, Fate, Behaviour and Effects of OrganicChemicals at the Regional and Global Scale, 24th–26th October2006, Lancaster, UK.

This journal is �c The Royal Society of Chemistry 2007 J. Environ. Monit., 2007, 9, 557–563 | 557

PAPER www.rsc.org/jem | Journal of Environmental Monitoring

determined in other environmental matrices. Kosetice obser-

vatory of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute is located

in the southern Czech Republic (N491350; E151050). The

climatic classification of the region is a moderately warm

and moderately humid upland zone with a mean annual

temperature of 7.1 1C, mean annual total precipitation of

621 mm, between 60 and 100 days with snow-cover per year,

1800 hours of sunshine per year, and prevailing westerly

winds. The observatory was established as a regional station

of an integrated background monitoring network in the late

1970s.

All measurements assigned to EMEP stations (including

VOCs, POPs and heavy metals) are currently implemented in

Kosetice,7–13 and monitoring design is based on the EMEP

POP monitoring strategy.14 Samples of the ambient air, wet

deposition, surface water, sediment, soil and biota, as the key

components of the environmental system, are collected. The

ecosystem indicators are further applied to determine the

current state, anthropogenic impacts and influences, and to

predict the future changes of terrestrial and freshwater eco-

systems in a long-term perspective.14 A dataset generated over

ten years of integrated monitoring in Kosetice was used in this

study to assess the Central European trends in background

levels of persistent organic pollutants.

Methods and materials

Selection of compounds and matrices

16 US EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 7

indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs: IUPAC congener

numbers 28, 52, 101, 118, 153, 138, 180), organochlorine

pesticides (OCPs: p,p0-DDT, p,p0-DDD, and p,p0-DDE), a-,b-, g-, d-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), hexachlorobenzene

(HCB) and pentachlorobenzene are being analyzed on a

regular basis.

Ambient air sampling has been carried out in Kosetice since

September 1988 which makes it a unique achievement of 18

years of continuous monitoring. One sample per three months

was the sampling frequency between 1988 and 1993. Since

1994, the air samples have been collected once a week (every

Wednesday, from 08:00 h to Thursday, 08:00 h) resulting in 52

samples per year.7–12 Wet deposition samples were collected

during each rain event.

Sampling techniques

High volume ambient air samplers PS-1 (Graseby-Andersen,

USA, flow: 12–18 m3 h�1, volume: 250–400 m3 per 24 h) and

two types of adsorbents were used: a Whatmann quartz filter

(QF) (fraction dae o 50 mm) for collection of particles, and a

polyurethane foam (PUF) filter (Gumotex Breclav, Czech

Republic, density 0.03 g cm�3) for collection of the gaseous

phase. PUF filters were cleaned before the campaign by

extraction with acetone and dichloromethane in a Soxtec

extractor. The duration of sampling was 24 hours; quartz

filter field blanks and PUF field blanks were collected each

month.

Precipitation samples were collected using manually oper-

ated stainless steel collection vessels (total sampling area of

0.5 m2). They were opened at the beginning of each rain event

to make sure that only wet deposition is collected. The

samplers were closed when the rain stopped, wet deposition

samples were removed immediately or after 24 hours in the

case of continuing precipitation, and containers were cleaned.

The sample was analyzed whenever more than 250 mL of

water was collected.

Chemical analysis

Quartz filters and polyurethane foam filters were extracted and

analyzed separately in order to determine the gas–particle

partitioning of all compounds. Surrogate recovery standards

(d8-naphthalene, d10-phenanthrene, d12-perylene for PAH ana-

lysis; PCB 30 and PCB 185 for PCB analysis) were spiked on

each sample prior to extraction. All filters were extracted

with dichloromethane in a Buchi System B-811 automatic

extractor.

Liquid–liquid (L–L) extraction was employed for the ana-

lysis of wet deposition samples until 2004, and solid phase

extraction (SPE) has been applied since 2005. Both techniques

have been co-employed for one year to ensure a consistency of

results. For L–L, the sample (250–1000 ml) was extracted by

5 mL of dichloromethane in 15 mL of hexane in the separation

funnel. For SPE, solid phase extraction disks (Envi-Disk C18,

47 mm diameter, Supelco) conditioned by methanol were used.

After the sorption, all analytes were re-eluted with a mixture of

dichloromethane–hexane 1 : 1. The extracts were dried using

Na2SO4.

The volume of samples was reduced after the extraction

under a gentle nitrogen stream at ambient temperature, and

divided in two halves for PCB/OCP and PAH analyses.

Fractionation was achieved on a silica gel column; a sulfuric

acid modified silica gel column was used for PCB/OCP

samples. Terphenyl and PCB 121 were used as internal stan-

dards for PAH and PCB analyses, respectively. Air samples

Fig. 1 POP monitoring EMEP network, 2000.

558 | J. Environ. Monit., 2007, 9, 557–563 This journal is �c The Royal Society of Chemistry 2007

were analyzed using a GC-ECD (HP 5890) supplied with a

Quadrex fused silica column 5% Ph for PCBs and OCPs, a

GC-MS (HP 6890—HP 5975) with a J&W Scientific fused

silica column DB-5MS was used for confirmation. 16 US EPA

PAHs were determined in all air samples using a GC-MS

instrument (HP 6890—HP 5972 and 5973) supplied with a

J&W Scientific fused silica column DB-5MS. GC-MS techni-

que (HP 6890—HP 5972) was also used for the analysis of all

samples of wet deposition (PCBs/OCPs and PAHs).

Quality assurance, quality control

Recoveries were determined for all samples by spiking with the

surrogate standards prior to extraction. Amounts were similar

to detected quantities of analytes in the samples. Recoveries

were higher than 75% and 70% for all air samples for PCBs

and PAHs, respectively. Recovery factors were not applied to

any of the data. Recovery of native analytes measured for the

reference material varied from 88 to 100% for PCBs, from 75

to 98% for OCPs, from 72 to 102% for PAHs. Field blanks

were extracted and analyzed in the same way as the samples,

and the levels in field blanks never exceeded 1% of the

quantities detected in samples for PCBs, 1% for OCPs, 3%

for PAHs, indicating a minimal contamination during the

transport, storage and analysis. Laboratory blanks were al-

ways lower than 1% of the amount found in the samples.

Data processing and statistical methods

Standard parametric and non-parametric statistical methods

were applied for data presentation (mean, standard deviation,

median, minimum and maximum). A Pearson correlation was

used for the trend analysis of species; positive correlations

mean increasing trends, negative correlations indicate decreas-

ing trends. a = 0.05 was defined as the critical level of

statistical significance for all analyses. The analyses were

performed using Statistica for Windows 7.1 (StatSoft Inc.,

2005) and SPSS 12.0.1 (SPSS Inc., 2003).

Results and discussion

Although the ambient air and wet deposition measurements

have been carried out since 1988 at Kosetice observatory, only

POP data from the last ten years (1996–2005) were used for the

evaluation of the long-term trends mainly due to the compar-

ability of the sampling and analytical techniques.

The ranges of measured air and wet deposition concentra-

tions for all POP groups, their means, medians, minima, and

maxima in the period of ten years are presented in Table 1. The

maximum PAH air concentrations reached as high as hun-

dreds of nanograms per cubic metre for the sum of 16 PAHs in

each, gas and particulate phase (median 8 ng m�3, and 2 ng

m�3 for gas and particulate phase, respectively). In contrast,

all groups of chlorinated compounds stayed at the maximum

levels of hundreds of picograms per cubic metre. While a

significant portion (up to 50%) of PAHs was associated with

the particles and captured on the quartz filter, almost the

entire amount of chlorinated compounds was present in the

gas phase. We are, however, aware that particle phase con-

stituents can be slightly underestimated due to the common

high volume sampling artifact. Regarding the individual com-

pounds, phenanthrene (median: 4 ng m�3, maximum: 31 ng

m�3) and fluorene (median: 2 ng m�3, maximum: 23 ng m�3),

were found to be the most abundant PAHs in the gas phase,

fluoranthene (median: 0.5 ng m�3, maximum: 19 ng m�3),

pyrene (median: 0.5 ng m�3, maximum: 13 ng m�3), and

phenanthrene (median: 0.3 ng m�3, maximum: 15 ng m�3)

reached the highest levels on the particles. There was no

significant predominance of any PCB congener in the air;

the measured concentrations of g-HCHs were approximately

two times higher than those of a-HCH, and the p,p0-DDE

levels where almost a half order of magnitude higher than

those of p,p0-DDT. Prevalence of DDT metabolites in the

ambient air (observed also in the samples of other environ-

mental matrices)12,13,15–19 suggests that old burdens rather

than a long-range transport are responsible for the levels of

DDT compounds in the air.

A typical seasonality in the atmospheric POP concentra-

tions can be seen in Fig. 2–5. The PAH levels show a

characteristic pattern (Fig. 2) prompted by higher occurrence

of these compounds in the cold seasons when they are

produced by various combustion processes. The highest atmo-

spheric PAH levels found in January and February were as

much as three orders of magnitude higher than the lowest ones

measured in July and August. January monthly means varied

between 22 and 86 ng m�3, while those of July stayed between

1 and 4 ng m�3.

PCB and OCP concentrations displayed a very different

profile (Fig. 3–5). Most of these compounds were banned in

Europe and their maxima are not connected to their produc-

tion or seasonal application. They are present in the atmo-

sphere due to their volatilization from the old deposits (soils,

sediments, wastes) or possibly due to a long-range atmospheric

transport from regions where they are still applied. In agree-

ment with this hypothesis, elevated levels of chlorinated

compounds can be observed during the summer when increas-

ing temperatures enhance the evaporation of these chemicals

from the old burdens. Even though this seasonality is not as

Table 1 POP concentration, Kosetice observatory, 1996–2005a

Matrix (media) unit Species Mean Median Min. Max.

Air (PUF)/ng m�3P

PAHs 12.0 7.9 0.360 208PPCBs 0.084 0.070 BQL 0.390PHCHs 0.068 0.044 BQL 0.771PDDTs 0.036 0.030 0.001 0.207

HCB 0.145 0.115 BQL 0.831Air (QF)/ng m�3

PPAHs 5.4 2.2 0.060 359PPCBs 0.031 0.024 BQL 0.215PHCHs 0.009 0.004 BQL 0.104PDDTs 0.004 0.003 BQL 0.050

HCB 0.004 0.002 0.001 0.134Rain water/ng L�1

PPAHs 239 120 2.4 6310PPCBs 2.8 0.5 BQL 459PHCHs 32.3 5.2 BQL 2256PDDTs 2.50 0.20 BQL 96

HCB 0.14 0.05 BQL 2.5

a BQL = below quantification limit. Quantification limit is 1 pg m�3

for the individual compounds in the ambient air, and 50 pg L�1 in the

rain water.


well pronounced as it is in the case of PAHs, it can still be

detected for PCBs in Fig. 3, and for pesticides in Fig. 4 and 5.

POP concentrations in wet deposition reflect the air con-

centrations. Phenanthrene, fluorene, and pyrene were the most

abundant compounds in all wet deposition samples; g-HCH

was detected in the highest concentrations of all chlorinated

compounds. While the mean concentration of PAHs (EPA 16)

was 120 ng L�1, the mean concentrations of chlorinated

compounds were lower: 0.5 ng L�1 for the sum of 7 PCBs, 5

ng L�1 for the sum of HCHs, 0.2 ng L�1 for the sum of DDT,

DDD, and DDE, and 0.05 ng L�1 for HCB. A seasonality in

the PAH rain water concentrations similar to the atmospheric

concentrations can be seen in Fig. 6.

While the minimum summer concentration was only 2 ng

L�1, the maximum winter concentration reached as high as

6310 ng L�1.

The annual median concentrations were calculated for all

POP subgroups (PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, HCHs and HCB) in the

air and wet deposition, and the resulting ten annual values for

the period of 1996–2005 were compared to evaluate the long-

term trends for each group of compounds and each matrix

(Fig. 7 and 8). The analysis revealed time related changes in

the amounts of chemical species. An interesting time develop-

ment can be seen for the sum of 16 PAHs in the atmospheric

gas phase (Fig. 7): a very pronounced decrease between 1996

and 2000 was followed by an increase in 2001–2002. This effect

probably reflects the local economic situation in the Czech

Republic where growing prices of gas in 2001 brought back the

coal and wood combustion in local heating systems. A similar

trend can be identified for the particulate phase as well as the

wet deposition. In the case of wet deposition, the annual

medians of PAH concentrations do not show any increase in

2001 (Fig. 8), however, elevated winter maxima can be identi-

fied in 2002 (Fig. 6).

The annual medians of PCBs also indicate a general de-

creasing trend interrupted by two periods of higher concentra-

tions (Fig. 7): 1997–1998 and 2000–2001. As can be seen from

Fig. 3, there are significantly elevated summer maxima of PCB

concentrations in 1997 and 1998 (maxima 390 pg m�3 and 337

pg m�3 for the sum of 7 PCB congeners in 1997 and 1998,

respectively). In contrast, summer maxima between 2000 and

2001 were lower (167 pg m�3 and 246 pg m�3) but due to the

higher winter minima (52 pg m�3—same as in 1998), the

annual medians remained quite high. Interestingly, in the

2000–2001 period there was also a significant fraction of

particle associated PCBs (Fig. 3). In contrast, high summer

maxima were observed in 2002 and 2003 (366 pg m�3 for the

sum of 7 congeners) but due to the low winter levels, it was not

reflected in the annual medians. These fluctuations in the

annual medians of PCBs may reflect the major flood events

in the Czech Republic in 1997 and 2002. A large area of central

and southern Moravia (to the east from Kosetice) was flooded

in 1997, including industrial and agricultural facilities where

various chemicals were stored. The floods were followed by

extremely hot summer, therefore those chemicals could eva-

porate from impacted areas and be a subject of atmospheric

transport. Similarly, the central part of Bohemia (to the west

from Kosetice, Prague included) was flooded in 2002. Several

large chemical enterprises located to the north of Prague were

severely damaged, and a variety of chemicals escaped to the

surface waters and was distributed with the flood. According

Fig. 2P

PAHs in the ambient air, Kosetice observatory, 1996–2005.

Fig. 3P

PCBs in the ambient air, Kosetice observatory, 1996–2005.

Fig. 4P

HCHs in the ambient air, Kosetice observatory, 1996–2005.

Fig. 5P

DDTs in the ambient air, Kosetice observatory, 1996–2005.


to the results of our previous research, which focused on the

impact of these flood events on aquatic and terrestrial envir-

onments,20 one of the effects of floods is a re-distribution of

the old burdens from the river sediments to the surface layers

of the soils that were flooded. Semi-volatile persistent organic

compounds can easily re-evaporate from these top soil levels

during the warm season. This is probably the source of

elevated atmospheric concentration of chlorinated POPs in

the years following these disasters. The reason why the floods

in 1997 so significantly affected the background levels of

PCBs, and the flood events in 2002 had a much smaller impact,

can be a character of the flooded regions. In 1997, the region

with highest PCB levels in environmental matrices (including

mother milk) in the Czech Republic was impacted. A paint

factory located in this area (Colorlak) was the major consumer

of PCB mixtures produced in the former Czechoslovakia

(Chemko Strazske)21 under the commercial name Delor, and

PCB-containing paints were heavily used in this region.

The same reasoning can be applied to explain the elevated

levels of organochlorine pesticides over the same periods (Fig.

4 and 5). HCHs exhibited extremely high levels in the summer

of 1998, and gradually decreased in 1999 and 2000 (Fig. 4 and

7). An elevated fraction of b-HCH was observed in 1999 and

2000 (Fig. 4) suggesting that some old deposits of HCH

technical mixtures or ballast HCH congeners were newly

exposed. The levels have been stabilizing since 2001, showing

only a typical seasonal variability.

DDTs followed the same pattern with very high summer

maxima in 1997 and 1998 and a gradual decrease until 2001

(Fig. 5 and 7). However, since the second increase in

2002–2003, the concentrations of DDT and its metabolites

have stabilized at elevated levels. This is probably again

connected to the flood events in 2002, when the chemical

factories which earlier produced pesticides, agricultural enter-

prises and pesticide storage facilities were affected and large

amounts of pesticides escaped to the environment. However,

the influence of the local sources (evaporation from the soils or

ponds) cannot be excluded. A new DDT fingerprint is typical

with a less pronounced seasonal variability and the enhanced

fraction of p,p0-DDD.

HCB is the only analyte which shows a statistically signifi-

cant increasing trend in its air concentrations. We can still

detect high summer air concentrations of HCB following the

floods in 1997 but—similarly to DDT—the floods in 2002

seem to have had a more lasting impact. The very high

Fig. 6P

PAHs in rain (monthly means), Kosetice observatory,

1996–2005.

Fig. 7 Temporal trends of POPs in the air, gas phase. The line

represents a linear trend estimate.

Fig. 8 Time related trends of POPs in the wet deposition. The line

represents an estimated trend.


concentrations from 2002 and 2003 have only declined very

slowly in the next few years. Thus, what seems to be an

increasing trend in the statistical analysis of annual medians

is most probably only a very slow recovery of the ecosystem

from the severe impact of the natural disaster. At the same

time, an extreme level of pentachlorobenzene as a degradation

product of HCB was detected in 2002.

Between 1987 and 2004, there have been ten reports pub-

lished by EMEP presenting data on POPs and heavy metals

from national and international monitoring programs.6,22,23

POPs were included in the EMEP’s monitoring program in

1999; however, data for POPs have been reported only from

countries around the North and Baltic Seas, in the Arctic and

from the Czech Republic. In general the concentrations de-

crease from south to north, except for a-HCH where the

highest concentration was seen in 2004 in Svalbard, Norway

(Zeppelin, 17 pg m�3) and Finland (Pallas, 18 pg m�3),

followed by lower concentrations in Sweden (Rao, 13 pg

m�3), Czech Republic (Kosetice, 12 pg m�3) and Iceland

(Storhovdi, 5 pg m�3).6 The presence of HCH in environments

far away from the sources is due to long-range atmospheric

transport. Preferential deposition and accumulation in polar

latitudes are expected according to the hypothesis of global

fractionation and cold condensation.24 Iceland, on the other

hand, is influenced by westerly air masses, which may explain

the lower concentrations. A similar monitoring study per-

formed in the Great Lakes area (Integrated Atmospheric

Deposition Network—IADN)25 found the a-HCH concentra-

tion in Chicago area (Lake Michigan, 45 pg m�3) lower than

the one in Eagle Harbor (Lake Superior, 52 pg m�3).

Concentrations of other POPs are much higher in the Czech

Republic than those observed in the Nordic countries. For

PCBs it is explained by the high historical usage in central

Europe26 and production of PCBs in the former Czechoslo-

vakia in significant amounts until 1984.21 The concentration

of, for instance, PCB 101 in Kosetice was 7 pg m�3 in 2004,

while it is only 1–2 pg m�3 in all the other stations. In the

Great Lakes area, for comparison, a concentration of

33 pg m�3 was measured for PCB 101 in Chicago, while it

was only 2 pg m�3 in Eagle Harbor.25

A similar situation was observed for DDTs. A DDE con-

centration as high as 21 pg m�3 was observed in Kosetice,

while it was only 3 pg m�3 in Sweden, 1 pg m�3 in Finland and

Svalbard, and below the detection limit in Iceland. The IADN

program reported 20 pg m�3 of DDE in Chicago and 1 pg m�3

in Eagle Harbor.25

Determination of PAHs in the air samples showed the levels

of 5.9 ng m�3 for phenanthrene and 279 pg m�3 for benzo(a)-

pyrene in Kosetice, 1.1 ng m�3 and 29 pg m�3 in Sweden, 470

pg m�3 and 33 pg m�3 in Finland, and 7 pg m�3 and 3 pg m�3

in Svalbard. At the Great Lakes, a concentration of 27.8 ng

m�3 was measured for phenanthrene and 230 pg m�3 for

benzo(a)pyrene in Chicago, while it was only 480 pg m�3 and

less than 1 pg m�3 in Eagle Harbor.25

A significant effort connected to the long-term ambient air

monitoring program in the Kosetice observatory is also fo-

cused on source identification. Due to the prevailing westerly

wind direction and the main sector of incoming air masses

between 2201 and 3201, major industrial and urban centers in

the Czech Republic, i.e. Prague, Plzen, and Ceske Budejovice

may act as source areas for Kosetice observatory. These

sources, of course, only contributed towards the end of air

parcels’ traveling to the site. A detailed analysis of the wind

trajectories and the origin of air masses is needed in order to

identify other, more remote sources, and the main contribu-

tors to the atmospheric pollution at the background station.

Those tasks are currently being addressed.

Conclusions

Data from ten years of integrated monitoring at Kosetice

observatory were used in this project to assess long-term

trends of POPs in the ambient air and wet deposition in the

European continental background. Most of the selected com-

pounds exhibited decreasing trends in the last decade. This is

consistent with data reported from other European sites.6

The results of our project demonstrated that the long-term

background monitoring is not only an excellent way to study

the regional levels and trends, but also a powerful tool for

evaluation of the impact of various local and regional

events—from industrial accidents to natural disasters. As

such, this approach has the potential to play a crucial role in

the implementation of regional and global measures and

conventions on persistent toxic substances.

Monitoring data from Kosetice are currently being used for

the assessments of the sources and distribution processes, and

for the validation of long-range transport and environmental

fate models. This study was carried out as a contribution to

the ongoing national POPs inventory in the Czech Republic.

Acknowledgements

The project was supported by the Czech Hydrometeorological

Institute and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and

Sport (MSM 0021622412). The authors express their gratitude

to all colleagues from the Czech Hydrometeorological Insti-

tute and Masaryk University who participated in the sample

collection and analysis over the whole period of the project.

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Trends in background levels of persistent organic pollutants at Kosetice observatory, Czech Republic. : Part I. Ambient air and wet deposition 1996?2005

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